First in-depth study of the use of landscape in fantasy literature

Fantasy worlds are never mere backdrops. They are an integral part of the work, and refuse to remain separate from other elements. These worlds combine landscape with narrative logic by incorporating alternative rules about cause and effect or physical transformation. They become actors in the drama—interacting with the characters, offering assistance or hindrance, and making ethical demands. In Here Be Dragons, Stefan Ekman provides a wide-ranging survey of the ubiquitous fantasy map as the point of departure for an in-depth discussion of what such maps can tell us about what is important in the fictional worlds and the stories that take place there. With particular focus on J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Ekman shows how fantasy settings deserve serious attention from both readers and critics. Includes insightful readings of works by Steven Brust, Garth Nix, Robert Holdstock, Terry Pratchett, Charles de Lint, China Miéville, Patricia McKillip, Tim Powers, Lisa Goldstein, Steven R. Donaldson, Robert Jordan, and Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.

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Endorsements:

“This excellent and innovative work draws on theoretical ideas from inside and outside of fantasy scholarship, and combines an impressively broad survey of texts with thoughtful reading of key examples. Ekman convincingly shows how much of fantasy’s significance comes from its representation of settings.”—Brian Attebery

“What do maps and mapping have to tell us about the construction of fantasy worlds? What is the role of landscape in the creation of the myth-scape of fantasy? Here Be Dragons considers the role of boundaries and ‘polders’ in constructing the dynamics of fantasy and asks how the mythological relations of humans to their world are shaped.”—Farah Mendlesohn, author of Rhetorics of Fantasy